Director of Product Compliance

Skills this role screens for

About the role

Skydio is the leading US drone company and the world leader in autonomous flight, the key technology for the future of drones and aerial mobility. The Skydio team combines deep expertise in artificial intelligence, best-in-class hardware and software product development, operational excellence, and customer obsession to empower a broader, more diverse audience of drone users, from utility inspectors https://www.skydio.com/solutions/energy-and-utilities to first responders https://www.skydio.com/solutions/public-safety, soldiers in battlefield scenarios https://www.skydio.com/solutions/national-security/tactical-isr, and beyond https://www.skydio.com/solutions.

The work

About the Role

Skydio is looking for a Director of Product Compliance to own product compliance across our entire portfolio. As our product families and the markets we serve keep expanding, we're investing in compliance as a core product capability. You'll build the operating system for it: the policy, the risk framework, the requirements inventory, and the gates that make certification something we design from concept.

You'll lead a team of portfolio compliance engineers, each owning certification for their programs, and you'll work across Hardware Ops, Engineering, Product, Security, Supply Chain, Sales, Government, Aviation Regulatory, and Legal to get decisions made. This is a build role with real decision rights, including launch readiness sign-off.

Also

How You’ll Make an Impact

• Own product compliance for the company. Set the policy, arbitrate cross-program tradeoffs, own the launch readiness recommendation and sign-off, and act as the single point of accountability when a requirement is contested or a launch is at risk.
• Lead and grow the compliance team. Develop compliance engineers embedded in program teams, balance their capacity against an 18-month roadmap, and make sure each program has a tailored plan rather than a generic checklist.
• Chart the path forward in ambiguity. Translate unclear or evolving requirements into a clear compliance strategy, maintaining program momentum and making defensible decisions.
• Partner with Product and Engineering on launch timelines that reflect real certification lead times, dependencies, and external constraints, and escalate launch-critical risk early enough to act on it.
• Direct our SME bench and external strategy. Get the right experts engaged at the right time across cellular, radio, civil aviation, cybersecurity, supply chain, export, and more, while working with cross functional partners to shape policy and regulation rather than only react to it.

Also

What Makes You a Good Fit

• 10+ years in product compliance, certification, or regulatory engineering, including experience leading a team
• Deep technical grounding across EMC, radio, and product safety, plus enough working knowledge of the adjacent domains — cellular and carrier certification, battery, aviation, cybersecurity, and supply chain and export controls — to know when a requirement applies, which expert to pull in, and whether the answer you're getting holds up
• Track record building process and governance where it didn't exist, and getting an organization to adopt it
• Comfortable holding decision rights, including telling a program its launch date is at risk
• Strong cross-functional operator, effective with engineering, legal, supply chain, and executive stakeholders alike
• Willingness to work outside the scope of your role to cover gaps in ownership
• Obtaining FAA Part 107 certification within the first 60 days of employment is strongly encouraged for all Skydio employees and required for certain positions

Nice to have

Bonus points if you have

• Battery, cellular including PTCRB and MNO, or NRTL compliance experience
• Familiarity with UAS regulatory frameworks such as FAA, Remote ID, and EASA
• Experience with federal supply chain, export control, or cybersecurity requirements
• Regulatory advocacy or standards body en